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Dr. Eric Sprankle

@drsprankle

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• Professor of Clinical Psychology
• Author of DIY: The Wonderfully Weird History and Science of Masturbation
• Horror enthusiast

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My new number one fan 🇺🇸 by @drsprankle

A little NIN appreciation as I wax nostalgic this morning about driving around in my 1989 Chrysler LeBaron in the late ‘90s with The Downward Spiral thumping from my Pioneer CD receiver trying to scare the locals. by @drsprankle

Five years ago today, I tweeted this blasphemy that introduced me to the right-wing media outrage ecosystem. Here’s the backstory:

I needed to create a new discussion board assignment on consent for my Psychology of Sexual Health class. I was watching a lot of vampire movies at the time and decided to create a thought exercise that examined the power dynamics between vampires and humans having sex. Since vampires are significantly older, physically stronger, and possess hypnotic abilities, is sex with humans consensual? What about humans’ agency to make decisions for themselves, knowing these power differentials exist and still choosing to be “fang bangers?”

That was the class assignment. But for Twitter, I upped the stakes and made it about deity-human relations, being very intentional with my words to highlight the power dynamics and not even making it about sex, but pregnancy. I made a special jab with “happy holidays” for the people who think it should be a felony for baristas not to say Merry Christmas to every customer.

Send tweet.

Campus watchdog sites who scour social media for the musings of godless commie professors were the first to report on the tweet. And then it went up the right-wing media ecosystem starting with World Net Daily and LifeSite News, then InfoWars, Breitbart, Russian state media, and The Federalist, then the British tabloids The Daily Mail and the Sun, before finally reaching Fox News and Tucker Carlson.

The only thing I didn’t anticipate about going viral was earlier tweets that had pictures of my Satanic christmas decorations also going viral and prompting some headlines to refer to me as the “Satanist Professor.”

After dozens of calls for my firing and the university president issuing a formal statement condemning my tweet (but acknowledging my right to say it), I decided to make light of the situation by starting a new research agenda focusing on the intersections of Satanism, stigma, sexuality, and mental health.

Five years later, this research so far has yielded three journal publications, a dozen conference presentations, and four graduate theses. I have become the Satanist Professor.

Happy holidays! by @drsprankle

That’ll show him. by @drsprankle

Katie and I celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary by attending the 30th anniversary celebration of @marilynmanson’s Antichrist Superstar. An album that lives in our cells.

We first met in 2012, started dating in 2014, and exchanged unholy vows on Halloween 2015. I’ve never known what it’s like to have someone truly in my corner until she came into my life. I’m so lucky and so madly in love. Happy anniversary 🖤🖤 Happy Halloween 🎃 🎃 by @drsprankle

Our cats getting into the Halloween spirit over the years 🎃 👻 🪦 by @drsprankle

Flipping through my favorites folder and finding a few favorites.

Pic 2: @teenagestepdad
Pic 3: @digitalmeddle
Pic 4: @coloneltonymoore by @drsprankle

I did my duty to counter the vote of that pillow guy. by @drsprankle

And wait until you learn how this “one issue” is attached to all other issues. by @drsprankle

Some horror from the past few weeks. Brief impressions below.

Crystal Lake TV series (2026): No spoilers, please, because I’m only a few episodes in, but I’m loving everything about this so far. I’ve been a fan of Friday the 13th since the 80s, and this show is doing it justice. Subtle homages. Violent and gory in all the right ways. Linda Cardellini is phenomenal.

Videodrome (1983): Debbie Harry into S&M. Rick Baker doing the special effects makeup. I couldn’t ask for a better pairing. My favorite Cronenberg movie.

Que Ma Volonté Soit Faite (Her Will Be Done; 2026): I’m a sucker for foreign folk horror, and this is no exception. One of the year’s best.

The House of the Devil (2009): One of my favorites and a yearly watch either during late October or during a blood moon. Ti West has a knack for capturing the 80s.

Halloween II (1981): Introduces a lot of backstory that other movies in the franchise continue to use, but if I’m placing it either in the top half of the series or the bottom half, sadly this is a bottom half one for me.

Halloween II (2009): Easily in the top half. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen this, and I never noticed how similar it looks to my favorite The Lords of Salem in terms of lighting, grain, and set. Well, lo and behold, the two movies share a cinematographer (Brandon Trost) and set decorator (Lori Mazuer).

American Horror Story 13 TV series (2026): I’ve stuck with this series since the beginning and like Halloween I divide it into top half and bottom half. Unfortunately, this may be a bottom half despite its Satanic theme. I’m hoping it can turn around in the last couple of episodes.

The Sixth Sense (1999): I don’t think I’ve seen this since I had it on VHS, but it surprisingly holds up really well.

Last Chance Motel (2026): Fun slasher that’s very gory at times. A trifecta of final girls (Danielle Harris, Heather Langenkamp, and Scout Taylor-Compton).

Carrie TV series (2026): If you don’t compare it to the book or the original movie, you’ll enjoy it. It’s like a supernatural Gossip Girl. by @drsprankle

I could have ended the sentence after the word ‘government.’

Update: I seem to be “disappointing” a lot of you. What’s disappointing is a lot of you haven’t read my book or paid close enough attention to what I write here to think I would even remotely support any aspect of this legislation. My stance on this shouldn’t be surprising. by @drsprankle

Some fall favorites 🎃 🍁 Last pic is from @zanabayne

And before anyone comments, yes, I know the Friday the 13th score is made up of the syllables “ki ki ki ma ma ma” but we all hear it as “ch ch ch ah ah ah.” by @drsprankle